Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an acicular body, and more specifically, a fine acicular body which is applied onto the skin so as to pierce the skin.
Discussion of the Background
A percutaneous absorption method, which is a method for allowing a substance such as drug to penetrate through the skin to be delivered into the body is used as a convenient way of painless administration of the substance to be delivered.
In the field of percutaneous administration using a percutaneous absorption method, a technique has been proposed in which an acicular body having a needle which is sized in the order of micro-meters is used to pierce the skin, thereby administering a substance such as a drug into the skin (see PTL 1).
A method for manufacturing the acicular body has been proposed, in which an original plate is manufactured by machine processing, the original plate is used to fabricate a transfer plate, and the transfer plate is used for transfer molding (see PTL 2).
Another method for manufacturing the acicular body has been proposed, in which an original plate is manufactured by etching, the original plate is used to fabricate a transfer plate, and the transfer plate is used for transfer molding (see PTL 3).
The acicular body is preferably made of a material that is harmless to the body even if a broken piece of the acicular body remains in the body. Accordingly, biocompatible materials such as chitin and chitosan are proposed as materials for the acicular body (see PTL 4).
Further, when the acicular body is used for piercing the skin, it is preferable to use an adhesive material in order to prevent the acicular body from falling off from the skin.
PLT 1: JP-A-S48-93192
PLT 2: WO 2008/013282
PLT 3: WO 2008/004597
PLT 4: WO 2008/020632